Review

Richard Wagner
The Flying Dutchman Overture: for 11-part Brass Ensemble and Timpani

Arranged by Randall Malmstrom

3 C Trumpets, 4 Horns in F, 2 tenor trombones (in tenor clef), bass trombone, tuba, timpani

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2022
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Score and parts

Primary Genre: Brass Ensemble - 6+ brass (choir)

In 1843, Richard Wagner conducted the premier of his opera The Flying Dutchman. A hazardous sea journey undertaken four years earlier provided the terrifying inspiration for the opera. The Flying Dutchman was Wagner’s first opera to incorporate leitmotifs, and the overture foreshadows the themes that will illustrate the drama. The Dutchman, doomed to sail the seas forever, receives a majestic, fanfare-like theme. Senta, the woman who desires the redemption of the Dutchman, is portrayed by a tender, sweeping melody. Ascending and descending chromatic scales depict the stormy seas.

Trombonist and arranger Randall Malmstrom provides for us a scintillating brass choir arrangement of this popular overture. He writes for 3 C trumpets, 4 horns, 3 trombone, tuba, and timpani. This arrangement targets advanced performers. The first trumpet part requires sustained playing in the upper register. The four horn parts are quite challenging. Malmstrom distributes rapid 8th note motion between the parts. They also introduce both the Dutchman’s theme and Senta’s leitmotif. The trombone parts are the least demanding. They contain much sustained playing including the Dutchman leitmotif and occasional 8th note motion (stormy seas leitmotif). The upper two parts are in tenor clef and remain mostly in the staff. The bass trombone part requires only an F attachment and could be played on a large bore tenor. Beyond providing the normal harmonic foundation, the tuba part also contains the Dutchman leitmotif and for several measures the rapid 8th note motion of the stormy sea's theme.

Malmstrom’s arrangement of Wagner’s well-known overture will delight audiences. The music is exciting and accessible. Both collegiate and professional ensembles will find it rewarding. Each part contains both melodic interest and technical challenge and the task of incorporating individual parts into the whole presents equal challenge and reward.